Saddle bags

ABSTRACT

Bags on a sheet of flexible material are made by doubling back the sheet to form closed bottoms on multiple bags, wherein doubling back the sheet forms front and back panels on the multiple bags, followed by forming side edges on the multiple bags by joining the front and back panels to each other at predetermined locations to form closed seams at the predetermined locations, the closed seams forming the side edges of the multiple bags, and the side edges attaching adjacent multiple bags to each other.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Division of U.S. application Ser. No. 13/886,812 filed May 3, 2013, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/643,546 filed May 7, 2012.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a system and method for making receptacles in the form of bags.

BACKGROUND

U.S. Pat. No. 3,380,646 discloses a container of thermally weldable, plastic material and a method of producing the container by welding together multiple strips or sheets of plastic material to form a container having a welded closed, bottom part of the container. An open top of the container is collapsed and flattened to provide a pinch closed top.

A need exists for a method and system for making multiple bags from a single sheet of flexible material, wherein the bags are attached to one another in a predictable orientation. It would be advantageous for the bags to be separated from the sheet.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Bags on a sheet of flexible material are made by doubling back the sheet to form closed bottoms on multiple bags, wherein doubling back the sheet forms front and back panels on the multiple bags, followed by forming side edges on the multiple bags by joining the front and back panels to each other at predetermined locations to form closed seams at the predetermined locations, the closed seams forming the side edges of the multiple bags, and the side edges attaching adjacent multiple bags to each other.

For one embodiment, doubling back the first side of the sheet forms the front and back panels on the multiple bags in the first series, and doubling back the second side of the sheet forms the front and back panels on the multiple bags in the second series.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of multiple bags on a sheet of flexible material.

FIG. 2 is view similar to FIG. 1 and disclosing an alternative embodiment of multiple bags on a sheet of flexible material.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

One or more bags are made according to a system and method to be described. The one or more bags include a range of bag sizes, from smaller bags in the form of pouches and larger bags for holding dry animal food, seeds and agricultural chemicals.

With reference to FIG. 1, one or more bags 100 on a sheet 102 of flexible material are made by doubling back the sheet 102 to form closed bottoms 104 on multiple bags 100, wherein doubling back the sheet 102 forms front panels 106 and back panels 108 on the multiple bags 100, followed by forming side edges 110 on the multiple bags 100 by joining the front and back panels 106, 108 to each other at predetermined locations 110 a to form closed seams at the predetermined locations 110 a, the closed seams forming the side edges 110 of the multiple bags 100, and the side edges 110 attaching adjacent multiple bags 100 to each other.

The one or more bags 100 are made from a sheet 102 selected from a range of different materials, including paper, and polymeric materials. The sheet 102 includes a range of sizes including a film unrolled from a roll of film 102 a, FIG. 1, or a sheet 102 of smaller size than the film.

In FIG. 1, the sheet 102 is unrolled from the roll of film 102 a, and has edges on opposite sides 112, 114 extending essentially parallel to a lengthwise axis 116. The lengthwise axis 116 is adjacent the side 114. A first side 112 of the sheet 102 is doubled back toward the axis 116 to form closed bottoms 104 on multiple bags 100. According to an embodiment of the closed bottoms 104, doubling back the sheet 102 includes forming at least one pleat 104 a, wherein said at least one pleat 104 a forms bottom gussets on the closed bottoms 104 on the multiple bags 100. The bottom gusset of each bag 100 provides a flat bottom 104 for the bag 100, by unfolding and flattening the at least one pleat 104 a. The bag 100 can stand upright on the flat bottom 104.

In FIG. 1, joining the front and back panels 106, 108 to each other at predetermined locations 110 a is performed by melt bonding the polymeric material thereof by applying waveform energy in the form of heat or ultrasonic waveform energy at the predetermined locations 110 a. According to an alternative embodiment, joining the front and back panels 106, 108 to each other at predetermined locations 110 a is performed by applying adhesive to the predetermined locations 110 a on the sheet 102, followed by doubling back the sheet 102 and joining the front and back panels 106, 108 to each other at the predetermined locations 110 a using the adhesive to form closed seams at the predetermined locations 110 a. The sheet 102 in FIG. 1 is shown with a bag 100 having an open end 112 a, which is formed by an edge of the first side 112 of the sheet 102.

In FIG. 1, alternative embodiments of the bags 100 include, or do not include, handle openings 118. The handle openings 118 for the multiple bags 100 are made by punching through the sheet 102 prior to forming the sheet 102 into the multiple bags 100.

In FIG. 1, an embodiment of the bags 100 is made by perforating the sheet 102 at the predetermined locations 110 a to form perforations 110 b for tearing along the perforations and detaching respective multiple bags 100 from the sheet 102. An alternative embodiment of the bags 100 is made without the perforations 110 b at the predetermined locations 110 a, which requires cutting along the closed seams to detach respective bags 100 from the sheet 102.

In FIG. 1, alternative embodiments of the bags 100 include or do not include closure mechanisms 120. An embodiment of a closure mechanism 120 includes two interlocking strips 120 a and 120 b shown on the sheet 102, commercially available and referred to as a press-to-close zipper. The strips 120 a and 120 b for each bag 100 have adhesive on their exterior surfaces for attaching to the panels 106, 108 adjacent to a bag open end 112 a. The first strip 120 a is adhesively attached to the sheet 102 adjacent to the elongated side edge 112 of the sheet 102 prior to forming the bag open end 112 a. The second strip 120 b is assembled with the first strip 120 a. When the side 112 is doubled back to form the panels 106 and 108, the first strip 120 a positions the second strip 120 b over the panel 108 to become adhesively attached to the panel 108 inside the bag open end 112 a.

FIG. 2 discloses an alternative embodiment of the bags 100, wherein the sheet 102 of FIG. 2 has a width about twice the width of the sheet 102 in FIG. 1. The axis 116 of FIG. 2 comprises approximately a centerline of the sheet 102, compared to the axis 116 of FIG. 1 that is adjacent to the side 114. In FIG. 2, similarly as in FIG. 1, the first side 112 of the sheet 102 is doubled back toward the axis 116 to form closed bottoms on multiple bags 100 in a first series. In FIG. 2, the second side 114 of the sheet 102 is doubled back toward the axis 116, and forms a second series of multiple bags 100 by duplicating the process described with reference to FIG. 1 for making the bags 100 from the doubled back first side 112 of the sheet 102. Doubling back the first side 112 of the sheet 102 forms the front and back panels 106, 108 on the multiple bags 100 in a first series, and doubling back the second side 114 of the sheet 102 forms the front and back panels 106, 108 on the multiple bags 100 in a second series.

In FIG. 2, a bag 100 made from the doubled back, second side 114 of the sheet 102 is directly across the sheet 102 from a bag 100 made from the doubled back, first side 112 of the sheet 102, which provides a set of bags 100 in a saddle bag configuration. Further, the seams forming the side edges 110 of the bags 100 extend across the sheet 102 to make the set of bags 100. The side edges 110 can be perforated to form perforations 110 b, similarly as in FIG. 1, for tearing along the perforations and detaching respective saddle bags 100 from the sheet 102.

In FIG. 2, an embodiment of the bags 100 is provided with handle openings 118 by punching handle openings 118 through the sheet 102 to form handle openings 118 in a first series of handle openings, and to form handle openings 118 in a second series.

This description of the exemplary embodiments is intended to be read in connection with the accompanying drawings, which are to be considered part of the entire written description. In the description, relative terms such as “lower,” “upper,” “horizontal,” “vertical,”, “above,” “below,” “up,” “down,” “top” and “bottom” as well as derivative thereof (e.g., “horizontally,” “downwardly,” “upwardly,” etc.) should be construed to refer to the orientation as then described or as shown in the drawing under discussion. These relative terms are for convenience of description and do not require that the apparatus be constructed or operated in a particular orientation. Terms concerning attachments, coupling and the like, such as “connected” and “interconnected,” refer to a relationship wherein structures are secured or attached to one another either directly or indirectly through intervening structures, as well as both movable or rigid attachments or relationships, unless expressly described otherwise.

Patents and patent applications referred to herein are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties. Although the invention has been described in terms of exemplary embodiments, it is not limited thereto. Rather, the appended claims should be construed broadly, to include other variants and embodiments of the invention, which may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and range of equivalents of the invention. 

What is claimed is:
 1. Multiple bags on a sheet of flexible material, comprising: a doubled back first side of the sheet forming closed bottoms on multiple bags in a first series of multiple bags, and a doubled back second side of the sheet forming closed bottoms on multiple bags in a second series of multiple bags, wherein the doubled back first side of the sheet forms front and back panels on the multiple bags in the first series, and the doubled back second side of the sheet forms front and back panels on the multiple bags in the second series; the front and back panels being joined to each other at predetermined locations and providing closed seams at the predetermined locations, the closed seams comprising side edges on the multiple bags; and adjacent multiple bags being attached to each other at the side edges.
 2. The bags of claim 1, comprising: perforations through the sheet at the predetermined locations for detaching respective multiple bags from the sheet.
 3. The bags of claim 1, comprising: first handle openings through the sheet, wherein the multiple bags in the first series include the first handle openings; and second handle openings through the sheet, wherein the multiple bags in the second series include the first handle openings. 